Storytelling With ACORDS
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Turning 125/126/140 Into Your Competitive Edge.
In the world of E&S insurance, the art of storytelling is more than a soft skill, it’s a competitive advantage. The clarity and completeness of the story you tell through your ACORD forms can dramatically impact how fast a submission gets quoted and how competitively it can be priced. The following will take a deeper dive into how to use ACORD forms not just as paperwork, but as storytelling tools.
OBJECTIVES
Understand how storytelling can influence the effectiveness of a submission
Utilize ACORD forms strategically to enhance submission quality
Learn how to write an effective narrative
Identify and select supporting documents that strengthen and validate the risk
Review the benefits of the Create Submission function on The Grove
WHY STORYTELLING MATTERS IN E&S
Underwriters are not insuring class codes, they are insuring operations.
That means they need you to articulate:
What the business does
How they do it
Where they do it
What exposures exist
What has changed year-over-year
Two businesses may share the same class, yet their exposures can look entirely different. Your job is to help underwriters see the actual risk behind the form.
ACORDS
ACORD forms are standard insurance applications used to collect key underwriting information. Underwriters use them to understand exposures, determine eligibility, and price coverage correctly. Missing, inconsistent, or outdated ACORDS are a common cause of delays, which is why the details below are critical to keeping submissions moving.
ACORD 125 - The Foundation (Commercial Insurance Application)
The ACORD 125 is the foundation of every submission.
Must include:
Legal entity name
FEIN
Years in business
All operating locations
Accurate contact info
Prior carrier and loss history
A clear operations description
The operations description on page 2 of the ACORD 125 should match the insured’s website, marketing materials, and the agent narrative. If those sources contradict each other, underwriting must pause and seek clarification.
ACORD 126 - Operations & Exposures (General Liability Application)
The ACORD 126 is where underwriters learn the nature and scope of operations. It’s a key form for evaluating risk and determining accurate pricing.
Must include:
Employee counts
Detailed payroll breakdown
Subcontractor usage
Including cost of labor and cost of materials
Work type percentages
Height exposure
Any high-hazard operations
Because underwriting decisions rely on this level of detail, incomplete or unclear information is a common cause of delays. Providing thorough, accurate descriptions upfront helps streamline the process and reduce back-and-forth.
ACORD 140 - Property Details That Matter (Property Application)
The ACORD 140 provides the data needed to evaluate property exposures, even when you’re only quoting Business Personal Property (BPP).
Must include:
Construction Type
Protection class
Fire/Theft protections
Building updates (roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC)
Occupancy details (Tenant List for LROs)
Distance to hazards (creeks, rivers, etc.)
Roof age
Without complete building details, underwriters cannot build a property rate, even for contents-only requests.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Strong submissions go beyond ACORD forms. They are backed by documents that complete the picture of the risk. ACORDs set the foundation, but supporting materials fill in the gaps and help underwriters make informed decisions. Without them, even solid submissions can stall. With them, you reduce questions, improve clarity, and speed up the quoting process.
Key Supporting Documents to Include:
Supplemental Applications: Each carrier may write the same class of business, but their underwriting appetites differ in the details: what they accept, what they avoid, and what conditions they require. Supplemental applications address those nuances. They expand on exposures, operational specifics, and risk characteristics that ACORDs alone cannot capture. Without them, underwriters are often unable to fully evaluate the risk, leading to delays or incomplete indications.
You can access all our supplemental applications via The Grove under our application tab. If you are unsure of what supplemental application, you can reference our website product pages or email our underwriters using info@chris-leef.com.
Loss Runs (3–5 Years): Loss history provides critical insight into how a risk performs over time. A minimum of three years is required; five years is preferred when available. If losses are present, include clear and detailed explanations. Loss runs alone often lack context. Entries like “hail loss” or “water damage” don’t tell the full story. Underwriters need to understand the severity, scope, and outcome.
Was the damage isolated or widespread?
Was it a full replacement or a minor repair?
What corrective actions were taken?
Context turns loss history into a meaningful part of your story rather than a red flag.
Photos: Photos provide real-world visibility into the risk and are especially valuable for properties in rural or less accessible areas. While tools like satellite imagery can help, they are often outdated or limited to aerial views. Current photos of buildings, operations, and surrounding conditions give underwriters a clearer, more accurate understanding, helping bridge gaps that data alone cannot fill.
Contracts & Insurance Requirements: Whenever contractual insurance requirements exist, include sample agreements. This is especially important when AI (additional insured) endorsements, primary and noncontributory wording, or waivers of subrogation are required. Providing these documents upfront ensures the policy can be structured correctly from the beginning, avoiding delays and last-minute coverage issues.
Certificates & Risk Transfer Documentation: Certificates of insurance and hold harmless agreements are key when risk is shared or transferred, such as with subcontractors or tenants in lessor’s risk scenarios. These documents help validate how exposure is distributed and demonstrate that proper risk transfer practices are in place.
Website Alignment: An often-overlooked detail, the insured’s website should align with the submission. Underwriters frequently review online presence to verify operations.
If the website tells a different story than the ACORDs or narrative, it creates confusion and triggers additional underwriting questions. Consistency across all sources reinforces credibility and keeps the process moving.
WRITING A NARRATIVE THAT WORKS
A narrative should be brief, clear, and proactive, answering questions before the underwriter asks them.
Include:
Daily operations
Notable exposures
Safety procedures
Year-over-year changes
Why the insured is shopping
Actions taken after any losses
Narrative Example
"ABC Roofing is a residential-only roofer performing tear-offs and replacements. They do not perform commercial or industrial projects. They use vetted subcontractors who provide COIs and signed hold harmless agreements. No height exposure above two stories. Recent losses involved wind damage; the insured has since implemented new safety protocols."
✓ Short. ✓ Clear. ✓ Complete.
THE "CREATE SUBMISSION" TOOL
To streamline your workflow, our agent portal, The Grove, includes a "Create Submission" function that automates the ACORD process.
When using this function, it will fill out multiple ACORD forms at once, auto-populate fields based on your needs, and get your submission to us instantly.
Get Started!
Start by logging into The Grove agent portal.
Once you have logged in, navigate to the 'Applications' tab at the top.
Select 'Continue' on the first box labeled 'Create Submission'.
You can either pick up where you left off on old submission, or you can start a new one.
Start to fill out the fields. They will populate based on how you answer the questions. Please pay attention to any field that has a ' * '; these will be questions that you will not be able to skip.
Then you can either save the information and return to work on it at any time, or you can upload any supplemental applications (linked at the bottom of the form), photos, loss runs, and click 'Submit' at the bottom of the form.
Once you have hit the submit button, it will take all the information that you have filled out based on your needs and map the answers to the ACORD forms for you. Then the automated system will email you a copy of the ACORD forms and any other documents that you have included, as well as instantly create the submission in our system.
This is the fastest way to receive your submission and, most importantly, makes it easy for you, anywhere, anytime!
Not sure what you need for certain risks? Reference our submission checklist! If you can't quite find what you are looking for, contact one of our outstanding underwriters using the information below. | |
Email Address: info@chris-leef.com | Phone Number: 1 (800) 548-0491 |
KEY TAKEAWAY
In the E&S marketplace, speed and pricing are driven by how well a risk is explained, not just by the class code it falls under. By treating ACORDs as storytelling tools rather than paperwork, agents can clearly communicate what the insured does, how operations are conducted, where exposures exist, and what has changed over time. When complete ACORDs, a strong narrative, and the right supporting documents work together, especially when streamlined through the "Create Submission" function, underwriters gain the confidence they need to move quickly and price competitively. The strength of the submission ultimately determines both turnaround time and outcome.
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